I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I haven't done brain yet.

Agreed. One of the nicer things you can make with cheap cuts is a simple goulash. Just some onions, meat, tomatoes and bell peppers. Use lots of powdered paprika, and a bit of salt and pepper, and serve over noodles or rice. That's some good eatin'

/Just make sure to cut up the meat into tiny pieces when you start out. Otherwise it will take too long to cook and the bell peppers will get too soft.

I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I haven't done brain yet.

Agreed. One of the nicer things you can make with cheap cuts is a simple goulash. Just some onions, meat, tomatoes and bell peppers. Use lots of powdered paprika, and a bit of salt and pepper, and serve over noodles or rice. That's some good eatin'

/Just make sure to cut up the meat into tiny pieces when you start out. Otherwise it will take too long to cook and the bell peppers will get too soft.

Get one of these 'needle tenderizers'.

About 20 bucks. I use it a lot for roasts and tougher cuts of meats.Academy sports sells them in their BBQ section.

I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I haven't done brain yet.

Tongue is unbelievable - I made pressed tongue last winter on a dare to myself, and it was the best damn lunch meat EVAR.

And actually, you don't even really have to learn to cook. Cheap cuts like chuck roast are pretty damned amazing just thrown in a crock pot with salt and pepper and slow cooked all day on low. One of my favourite "Ain' nobody got time fo' dat" things for Sunday Dinner used to be to throw portions of cheap round steak in the crock pot with sliced onions and canned golden mushroom soup. Cook on high all afternoon, serve over noodles.

Also, for cheap, try pork. When I lived in the US, you could get pork roast on sale for $.99/lb - put that in a crock pot and pour a Malta soda over it, garlic, salt, pepper... easy peasy. There are tons of recipes out there for marinades.

Seriously - I loves me some beef - and here where I am in the True North Strong and Free, chicken and pork are only slightly less expensive than beef, which is relatively cheap compared to when I left the US. I can't wait until prices come back down on the stuff.

I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I haven't done brain yet.

Agreed. One of the nicer things you can make with cheap cuts is a simple goulash. Just some onions, meat, tomatoes and bell peppers. Use lots of powdered paprika, and a bit of salt and pepper, and serve over noodles or rice. That's some good eatin'

/Just make sure to cut up the meat into tiny pieces when you start out. Otherwise it will take too long to cook and the bell peppers will get too soft.

Get one of these 'needle tenderizers'.

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About 20 bucks. I use it a lot for roasts and tougher cuts of meats.Academy sports sells them in their BBQ section.

I just refuse to buy or eat pork or beef. The cost to feed those animals is far higher than the meat they yield. Factory farming, where most of the meat at the supermarket comes from, is an ecological disaster and a hellish life for the animals.

Chickens aren't treated much better but at least they're sustainable as a food source.

I was unaware beef was expensive. I don't remember it being cheaper except maybe when I was a kid, but who the hell pays attention to the price of sirloin when you're busy whining to mom about buying some cookies.

jaylectricity:I was unaware beef was expensive. I don't remember it being cheaper except maybe when I was a kid, but who the hell pays attention to the price of sirloin when you're busy whining to mom about buying some cookies.

Considering the price has been breaking records, it's probably been cheaper before. Probably.

brigid_fitch:I just refuse to buy or eat pork or beef. The cost to feed those animals is far higher than the meat they yield. Factory farming, where most of the meat at the supermarket comes from, is an ecological disaster and a hellish life for the animals.

Chickens aren't treated much better but at least they're sustainable as a food source.

Prices are going down. I remember the prices for a choice rib eye steak about 8 years ago when there was the big "mad cow" thing going on it was about the same as it is today. I remember saying at that time that a lot of you farkers were going to quit buying the steak I want and the cost would go down. I guess I underestimated the power of that steak, and the cost held steady and never went down against the dollar.*

/the price of ground meat has gone up, but this is just lately. I don't know why. Maybe to fark the Hamburger Helper croud//*actually the price of that steak went down "against the dollar" with inflation

I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I haven't done brain yet.

And learn how to use a smoker. I've got 8lbs of pork shoulder going on in the morning and I'll be able to feed about 12 people heavily for $18. Currently have four pounds of boneless turkey breast on for some delicious sammich meat.

brigid_fitch:I just refuse to buy or eat pork or beef. The cost to feed those animals is far higher than the meat they yield. Factory farming, where most of the meat at the supermarket comes from, is an ecological disaster and a hellish life for the animals.

Chickens aren't treated much better but at least they're sustainable as a food source.

Buy grass fed beef.

It costs more, but it's "sustainable" if you care about that. In fact, its a highly efficient use of scrub/brush land that would otherwise be incapable of producing food stock.

Also, your dairy cows are given commercial feed, they are not grass fed. Hope you don't like milk or cheese.

Benevolent Misanthrope:Also, for cheap, try pork. When I lived in the US, you could get pork roast on sale for $.99/lb - put that in a crock pot and pour a Malta soda over it, garlic, salt, pepper... easy peasy. There are tons of recipes out there for marinades.

Pork went up a lot this year. Tenderloin used to be $1.99/lb, now it's $3.99. I haven't seen $.99 pork in nearly two years.

And even the "cheap" cuts are high now, if you can find them. I've not seen beef tongue in the grocery in years, gotta go to a butcher for that - and that's more money.

As someone who has been shopping for decades I would like to tell you that you are wrong. I can be cynical too but meat prices fluctuate, and sometimes that means they go down. It trends upward but the notion that they never go down is false.

I've learned how to make all sorts of old fashioned cuts of meat and once you've mastered the art of the slow cooker, marinades and the like, it's amazing how cheaply one can eat. Tongue, heart, tripe and all of the tough cuts are deeeeeeelicious once you know what you're doing. True, there's a bit of a learning curve.

I buy a lot less meat now because of prices. As people have mentioned above, slow cookers rock for cheap cuts.

I live in Michigan and we have a store chain up here called Meijer. They sell frozen ground turkey for $1.99 a pound. Just let it thaw and use it for your tacos and chilis as a substitue for ground beef. It tastes so damn close to beef when you add the spices for only half the cost. I then also add some beans to it also to get a huge yeild. I'll get some pretty impressive amounts of chili by doing this. Ground turkey, lots of beans, even brown rice to cut it. It tastes great and I can make enough to last a week for lunches at work.

All this talk of slow cookers. Unless you have one of your grandmas slow cookers, the liquid is boiling after an hour even on low. I guess manufacturers are scared of being sued for food borne illness.

As someone who has been shopping for decades I would like to tell you that you are wrong. I can be cynical too but meat prices fluctuate, and sometimes that means they go down. It trends upward but the notion that they never go down is false.

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Notice how that is an average straight line increase in price over time......